In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the first mass-market personal computer is sparking discussion on campus, administrators warn of insufficient funds to pay the faculty, and more.
October 8, 1985—Macintosh puts on a microcomputer fair, “Applefest,” in the Engineering Quadrangle to promote the new Apple Macintosh, the first mass-market personal computer. Some students, like Carlo Cannell ’86, are not impressed, especially considering their price tag of roughly $2,000 (close to $5,000 in 2019). “A Macintosh is certainly a nifty typewriter, but is it really that much better than a 35 dollar used Sears manual?”
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October 10, 1958—Over 20 million viewers tune in to CBS to watch Edward R. Murrow’s live interview with Princeton president Robert Goheen from Prospect House for Person-to-Person.
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October 12, 1948—In a pamphlet distributed to every undergraduate, Princeton University outlines a financial predicament: There is insufficient revenue to pay faculty salaries.
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October 13, 1964—The Daily Princetonian reports that last spring’s “McCosh Hall Putsch” has succeeded in eradicating the pro-segregationist student group, the Council for Racial Reconciliation, from campus.
For the previous installment in this series, click here.
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